Provincewide real estate prices fall, local area sees increase

Prices for three leading real estate categories fell in October compared to September, data released Wednesday by the Canadian Real Estate Association shows. 

Average single-family homes in Ontario fell from $995,500 to $981,700, condos fell from $655,100 to $644,100 and townhouses fell from $737,200 to $724,700. 

Compared to October of 2022, the picture is more mixed: single-family homes and townhouses are up about one per cent, using seasonally adjusted data, while condos fell about one per cent. 

“We’re only in November, but it appears many would-be home buyers have already gone into hibernation,” CREA chair Larry Cerqua said in a release today. 

“The October numbers also revealed some sellers may be shelving their plans until next spring.”

Nationally, the number of newly listed properties declined 2.3 per cent month-over-month – the first fall since March — and sales volumes fell 5.6 per cent. 

Locally, in the Lakelands real estate area, single-family home prices fell 0.3 per cent to $737,200, condos fell 2.5 per cent to $453,500, and townhouses fell 11 per cent to $574,400 since October of last year.

The number of homes sold also dipped in the area with 307 units sold in October 2023, a decline of 16.3 per cent compared to October 2022.

Lakelands Association of Realtors, which represents 1,500 realtors in Midland, Penetanguishene, Tay, Tiny, Severn and Georgian Bay townships, Wasaga Beach, Clearview Township, Collingwood, The Blue Mountains, Meaford, Grey Highlands, Parry Sound, Muskoka and Orillia, reported an increase in listings in October and an increase in waterfront sales. Non-waterfront sale prices, however, are falling. 

“In both cases, new listings are surging to historic levels and overall inventories have climbed to just above their averages,” stated Matthew Lidbetter, president of the Lakelands association, in a news release. “In the case of waterfront homes, it seems as though early signs of a a recovery, or, at the very least, a moderation in decline, are starting to show.”  

However, Lidbetter noted that any meaningful observation of waterfront sales trends will have to wait until spring. 

In the west part of Lakelands, which includes The Blue Mountains, Clearview, Collingwood, Grey Highlands, Meaford and Wasaga Beach, prices and sales are still pretty close to last year’s numbers with 116 homes sold this year, compared to 125 last year, and an increase in median price by about 13.5 per cent to $794,500. 

In the central Lakelands, including Midland, Orillia, Oro-Medonte, Penetanguishene, Ramara, Springwater, Tay and Tiny, the median price for non-waterfront homes fell by about 0.8 per cent from last October to $650,000. 

The median price for waterfront homes in Lakelands was $933,000 in the west part of the region, $977,500 in the central portion, and $900,000 in the north. 

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